Talarico’s Pizzeria (West Seattle)

On a sunny day in West Seattle, following an afternoon baby shower, we decided to set out on a quest to answer the age old question, “Does size matter?” Well, at least in regards to pizza. What kind of a blog do you think this is?

Talarico’s Pizzeria in West Seattle is known for its giant pizza slices – 14″ to be exact. Now, when it comes to pizza, slices can be dicey. Usually, when we encounter a “pizza-by-the-slice” sort of place, it’s a game of chance – will you be lucky enough to get a slice from a pie right out of the oven? Or has that pizza been sitting on a counter all afternoon? The answers to these questions can directly affect the quality experience of a pizza slice. And as you can imagine, hours-old, reheated pizza slices aren’t great.

But low and behold, the Talarico’s menu specifically said “made-to-order slices,” which definitely eased our qualms. Unfortunately, we are sure that this made to order statement applies to happy hour, because once we got our slices, we were pretty confident that they weren’t just made.

That’s not to say I didn’t like the pizza. I just had this sneaky suspicion that it wasn’t fresh out of the oven the entire time I was eating it. My pepperoni slice was decent, with melty cheese and lots of good pepperoni, but it certainly wasn’t the best pizza I’ve ever had. Sara agreed that it was good, but not great. The happy hour prices were certainly a winner ($4.75/slice), but it lacked in freshness. She liked the sauce and the grease, but it became less likable as it cooled down. The crust wasn’t that amazing, and a little cracker-y on the outside. Our special guest, Amy, ordered a South Street slice, which was literally covered in sausage. She said: “It was very brown and monotonous in flavor. Overall, it tasted very brown.” An accurate description.

At the end of the day, this was a mediocre pizza that tried to cover up its mediocracy by being big (hey, we’ve all met that guy amirite?). There are definitely normal sized slices out there that taste way better, so it gives us a pretty clear answer that bigger is not always better…at least when it comes to pizza. With that, Talarico’s joined our mid-range pizzerias at a 3.5 out of 5.